Butterfly Swords

by Jeannie Lin

  Her horse broke into a run at the impact, separating her from the pack. She grabbed at the reins and found herself holding off two attackers. She cut again and again, hitting nothing as her frustration built. She needed to use both her arms. She needed to be able to manoeuvre.

  There was a cry to the left as the broadsword bit into Dako’s shoulder. The nomad twisted to the side as he fell and Li Tao’s captain dismounted for a killing blow.

  Ailey shouted and brought the reins up hard to direct her horse back into the fight, kicking her heels to drive him in between them. The leader stared at her as she rode close. He lifted his sword calmly. The gleaming blade looked as big as she was.

  With cold determination, he swung in a deadly arc towards the horse’s neck, his arms straining with the force. At the last moment she lost her resolve and pulled aside. The sudden motion threw her from the saddle.

  She landed against her shoulder, her arm flung protectively over her head. The impact knocked the air from her lungs and left her gasping, struggling for the next breath that would not come. She rolled onto her knees, moving sluggishly. Her horse twisted back onto four legs, safe but shaken. He bolted from the battle, leaving her tormentor looming over her with the sun behind him. Her hands closed around dust. Her sword had been torn from her hands.

  He didn’t come any closer. Instead, he waited for her to recover. Arrogant bastard. Her sword lay inches away in the dirt and she reached for it, the sharp gravel biting into her knees. Slow. She was slow and stiff and aching. With great effort, she staggered to her feet. Her entire body throbbed with pain, but everything moved when she told it to. She wasn’t broken.

  She unsheathed the other sword and felt a surge of strength as she found her balance and lifted them. Dako stirred on the ground just beyond the fearsome warrior before her.

  This was the fight of her life. She would need all the skill she could summon. For some reason, her adversary held back. She didn’t.

  She darted in, breathing through the motion, drawing from instinct and muscle memory. He moved to counter, but the broadsword took longer to bring around than the butterfly swords. Her eyes focused in on his elbow to watch for his next attack as her feet brought her within striking distance. Her leading sword cut across his forearm and the trailing sword struck high across his cheek.

  He fell back cursing with a hand pressed to his face. She’d connected, but not deep. She needed to attack again while his momentum was broken. He thrust at her. She tried to deflect, but it was like shoving against a stone wall. The blow knocked her back with hardly any effort and his blade flew at her in unrelenting lines. She blocked each attack with one sword and then the other as she tested for a shift in his energy, searching for any opening. There was none. His balance was frightening and soon her arms ached from holding him off.

  She couldn’t keep up the fight much longer. It was then that she made her mistake, growing reckless. In desperation, she lunged at his blind side, aiming for his throat. One swipe of his broadsword was all it took to wrench the weapon from her grasp. Her fingers screamed with pain. Disarmed and off centre, she had no choice but to block his next strike by bracing her hands against his sword arm.

  The energy flowing through her came to a shocking halt as she was shoved to the ground. She managed to shield herself from the blow. The second sword was knocked from her hand. Dark spots loomed before her vision as his fingers clamped around her wrist to haul her to her feet. Then, she experienced her first taste of the terrible strength in him.

  Blood poured from the side of his face. Black eyes glittered beneath the helmet and the hard lines of his mouth loomed close as he dragged her against him, twisting her arm so hard she thought it would break. Ailey gritted her teeth to stifle a scream. She wouldn’t give him that satisfaction. With the last of her will, she snapped her forehead against his nose.

  ‘She-demon!’ he cursed and shoved her back.

  Her head rang from the impact and tears poured from her eyes. The soldiers surrounded her and dragged her back to her feet. She tried to search for Dako, but her arms were forced roughly behind her. They tied her before throwing her over a saddle like a sack of grain.

  The soldiers whipped the horses into a gallop. Their hooves kicked up a shower of gravel and dirt and a rough hand held on to her as they thundered through the corridor, back towards the empire.

  Yumen Guan was in a blur of motion the moment the escort returned with the princess. Ryam cut through the swarm of men as they hurried to their assigned stations. There were hostile soldiers in the corridor. Princess Miya had just returned with only half of the armed escort that had ridden out with her. Dako was unaccounted for.

  Ryam shoved past the men surrounding the princess. ‘Where is Ailey?’

  ‘Li Tao’s soldiers have taken her,’ she said. ‘Wait! I don’t think they’ll hurt her.’

  ‘I can’t take that chance.’

  Ryam was no longer listening. He’d stood back while it happened. Ailey had been left alone to face the man who’d killed her brother and was intent on forcing her into marriage.

  ‘It’s suicide to rush in like that. Give me time to think. I can appeal to Emperor Shen,’ Miya implored.

  She thought in terms of diplomacy and negotiation, but there could be no negotiation with this warlord. Ryam started towards the gate.

  ‘Get me the fastest horse.’

  He ignored the throbbing in his head. His entire body ached from the last dregs of the grain liquor he’d consumed, but he willed the pain away.

  ‘You can’t go alone,’ Adrian said.

  Ryam stopped and looked towards the men gathered in the bailey. Already several of them were stepping forwards, waiting for his command.

  He turned back to Miya. ‘How many were there?’

  She looked pale. ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘How many?’ he growled.

  ‘I’m not certain. Twenty.’

  ‘Archers?’

  ‘No.’ She closed her eyes as she tried to recall. ‘Riders with heavy armour and swords.’

  He gave the princess some credit. Miya was shaking, but she remained lucid and observant. He’d have to trust her assessment. He turned to Adrian.

  ‘Take them,’ Adrian said before he could ask. ‘Go quickly.’

  He assembled fifteen of the volunteers and sent the others to ready the horses. Yumen Guan couldn’t afford to spare more than that and they would have to ride quickly. What they didn’t have in numbers, they’d have to make up in skill and organisation. The Gansu corridor was their territory. They knew its terrain like the back of their hand.

  ‘They have half a day on us,’ he told his men. ‘We’ll need to ride through the night.’

  His orders met no protest. They were ready to follow his lead.

  He saw Adrian and Miya standing just outside the gates as he mounted. For a moment, Ryam thought of how it had always been Adrian who’d led them into battle. He banished it immediately. He’d fought by Adrian’s side in every engagement and this was his fight. The warlord’s soldiers had Ailey and they were dragging her back to him. Li Tao would punish her. He could kill her for defying him.

  Ryam would take on ten of them with his bare hands if that’s what would free her. Death didn’t scare him; failure did. He should have never let her go on her own. The mistake that he had been afraid of making was right before him, looming large and threatening to drag him down to the ninety-nine hells the Chinese spoke of.

  With a final salute, Ryam dug his heels into his steed and urged it into a gallop. The regiment quickly took their positions. They weren’t an army any longer, but they had been for many years. It was the only thing that had held them together.

  There were more soldiers stationed further down the corridor. Her captors shoved her into the back of a wagon. They tied her ankles as well as her wrists and then rode for hours. The rope cut into her as the wheels jostled over rocky terrain.

  The commander ordered them south through the Q
ilian mountains. They would lose any pursuers in the trails that snaked through there. Ailey tried to sit up and look behind them, but it was impossible as she tumbled against the wooden slats. She hoped Miya had returned in time to send help for Dako. There was no hope that they could reach her.

  At dusk, the wagon rolled to a stop. They had reached the foothills. Their leader came by the wagon to give her a cursory glance as she sat propped up against one side. An angry cut slashed across his cheek, below his left eye. Someone had stitched it closed and the blood had begun to dry over the wound. It gave her petty satisfaction knowing she had put it there.

  ‘Untie me.’ She repeated her demand louder as he walked by, but he ignored her.

  He stood apart from the rest of them, turning her butterfly swords over in his hands as he inspected them in the waning daylight. Then he hooked both of the swords into his belt as if they were trophies. Of course Li Tao would send mindless brutes like this to do his bidding.

  The next time they stopped the wagons, it was to rest for the night. She watched as they unhitched the horses. Yumen Guan was not that far away. If she could get free of her bonds and steal a mount, there was a small chance.

  She could hear the commander barking orders from the other side of the camp. No fires would be set for the night. They didn’t want to risk being discovered. Once the guard detail was set, he positioned himself beside the cart and drew his sword, resting it across his arms.

  He remained nearby while she was given food and water. She wanted to spit it at him, but she needed her strength and she was still shaking from the battle. He probably slept standing up with his eyes open, she thought ruefully, as she slumped down in the cart. With a rough motion, he threw a coarse blanket over her shoulders.

  She cradled her sore arm close, thankful it wasn’t broken. A matter of nights ago she had been with Ryam, probably for the last time. It had ended so abruptly, cut to the quick. She couldn’t stop thinking of how they hadn’t said farewell to each other. They hadn’t said anything at all.

  Sleep took a long time in coming, but when it did, it dragged her down into a murky exhaustion that spread bone deep.

  She hadn’t stirred at all until the beat of hooves jerked her awake. The dingy light told her it was just before dawn.

  The sound was faint, but it grew steadily louder. From the cadence of it there were multiple riders approaching. A faint hope rose within her. The morning watch stirred and shouted to the others to rise and take arms.

  Li Tao’s head man found the direction of the sound and moved to the front of the camp where he stood waiting, feet apart and shoulders squared.

  It was Ryam. He rode at the head of a band of the western barbarians. She let out a startled cry. The soldiers surrounded her, spilling into the wagon to grab her and force her back down as she tried to rise.

  Ryam looked half-crazed. He must have ridden through the night to find her. His face was haggard, his complexion grey. What could he do against fifty armed men? They were going to be slaughtered.

  ‘Go back,’ she pleaded.

  He found her with his eyes and she was stricken cold with fear.

  He had come there to die.

  Two thoughts entered Ryam’s mind. They faced much more than twenty men. A quick scan over the swarm of black-and-red uniforms told him they’d be outnumbered more than three to one. The second thought was that it was too late to turn back.

  He signalled to the men and they pulled into a tight formation as they advanced. They knew the scenario. When you were outnumbered, stay close. Separation meant death.

  Ailey stared out from the throng of soldiers. Her arms were bound and she looked as if she’d been beaten. Rage coursed through him until his body overflowed with it. Someone would die. All of them, if he had his way.

  ‘Ryam, you shouldn’t have come.’

  The sound of her voice sent a surge of strength like quicksilver through his limbs. It wouldn’t last. They had ridden with little rest and barely a drink of water, let alone food. His single aim had been to get to Ailey.

  He drew his sword and kicked his steed forwards to lead the charge. Li Tao’s forces hadn’t saddled up yet. His men needed to strike before the enemy could mount a defence. They rode through the centre of the camp, scattering the soldiers before them.

  He kept his sights focused ahead on Ailey. If he could cut a path to her—once he had her secured within his grasp, he’d deal with the rest. To his left, the clang of steel told him they’d hit resistance. After the initial attack, the soldiers formed their defence on the ground, swords drawn. Ryam took out a foot soldier on his right with a strike to the head. Another swipe of his sword sent another man to the ground.

  This wasn’t about defeating the enemy. He needed to keep moving forwards. He tried to urge the steed ahead, only to be surrounded by the bastards. His men cut through the throng. Their swords were heavier, able to inflict enough immediate damage to push through the crowd. It wasn’t long before the laboured grunt of a horse filtered through the shouting. One of the riders was being taken down. The impact beside him shook the earth.

  Ryam cut through two more soldiers before the man at his right flank was dragged from the saddle. Hands grabbed on to his bridle. More took hold of him from the right, shoving him off balance. He kicked at them.

  Numbers. There were too many. Once the right guard broke, the enemy surged between them.

  His ride was going down. Ryam freed himself from the stirrups and attempted to control the fall. Gravel bit into his shoulder as he struck the ground. A cloud of dust crowded his lungs. He rolled and then dragged himself to his feet. His body ached from the impact.

  He was better on the ground anyway.

  But visibility was gone. Through the thick of the battle, he saw a few of the men were still on horseback. A few fought on foot.

  An imposing warrior in armour stood at the edge of the throng. His sword was drawn, but he stood apart, watching. Their commander. The sight of Ailey’s butterfly swords hanging from his belt added insult to injury.

  Ryam trained his gaze on him and the warrior never moved. His underlings skulked forwards, a pack of wolves closing in on an injured animal.

  He’d lost sight of the others in the dust storm. A vague thought came to him: death ground. He was on death’s ground and there was nothing to do but fight. It was how he’d survived when the imperial soldiers had outnumbered them. It was how he’d rescued Ailey when they first met.

  His strength was fading. He swung his sword in an endless volley. He didn’t know how many he took out. It didn’t matter. When the sword was knocked from his hands, he resorted to his fists. He could hear Ailey crying as he was wrestled to the ground and the sound of it broke him. The jagged gravel bit into his shoulder blades as he continued to struggle.

  Something hard and blunt slammed against the side of his head. With his last thread of sight, he saw his father’s blade lying fallen in the dirt. Then everything went black.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Ailey stopped fighting her captors during the long journey back to the southern defence command. There were too many of them and they watched her as if their lives depended on it. They would return her to their master and she was powerless to stop it.

  The soldiers had taken Ryam and four of his men prisoner and left the rest in the corridor to die or flee. They didn’t seem to care. For the first days, she had pleaded and bargained with their leader to release them. Each time, he presented her with the back of his head. He and the others must have had orders not to speak to her unless necessary. After that, she sat in the wagon and watched as the mountains and wild plains faded into the dense forests of the south. She needed to be calm and think of what she would do once she was returned to Li Tao.

  The warlord wanted to kill Ryam himself. That would be the only reason they kept him alive. They kept him imprisoned in one of the other wagons, refusing to let her see him. Her last sight of him had wrenched her heart. He’d been slumped ove
r, his face to the ground, broken and bleeding. Unmoving.

  Ryam had charged into battle as if he were invincible. It seemed he would always come for her, but only when she was in danger. It was another thing entirely to be willing to stand beside her, to stay with her.

  The commander rode by to check on her, the cut below his eye making him seem even more vicious. He regarded her tears with a hard expression, eyes narrowed. Lifting her chin in defiance, she glared back at him, not caring if he saw her crying.

  By the time they reached the edge of the bamboo sea, she had retreated into herself. It was a rare day when she spoke more than two words aloud. The sea was a wide expanse of bamboo that was known to sway and lilt in the breeze like a verdant ocean. The towering shoots engulfed the party in shade, but the natural beauty couldn’t touch her. This was supposed to be a place of tranquillity and peace, but for her the dirt path cutting through the forest led to the executioner.

  Li Tao’s home was a military compound much like hers. As they arrived, there were soldiers assembled in pockets around the grounds, practising sword strikes against thick columns of bamboo and sparring against one another. Her father’s soldiers were trained to fight in the mountains, Li Tao’s to fight in the woods. Even if both Ryam and she were armed, they wouldn’t be able to escape against so many.

  The wagons pulled around to the back of the mansion. The compound was protected from the rear by a wide gorge, the walls of grey stone cutting deep into the earth. As the wheels came to a halt, the soldiers cut her bonds. She tried to see where they would take Ryam, but they dragged her into the house and left her to the servants.